Baggage rack



y 6, 1953 Y. w. EHRET 2,639,817

BAGGAGE RACK Filed March 28, 1950 5 Sheets-sheet l INVENTOR. G W Q/'flhei' May 26, 1953 Y. w. EHRET 2,639,817

BAGGAGE RACK Filed March 28, 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

May 26, 1953 Y. w. EHRET 2,639,817

BAGGAGE RACK Filed March 28, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR.

Patented May 26, 1953 BAGGAGE RACK Yale W. Ehret, Elkhart, Ind., assignor to The Adlake Company, a corporation of Illinois Application March 28, 1950, Serial N 0. 152,469

7 Claims. (Cl. 21190) This application relates to baggage racks for vehicles, and has for its principal object to provide a rack structure that can be assembled in a railroad car or the like from units that readily go together without regard to accumulated tolerances, and will remain in properly adjusted relation in service.

Generally speaking, this is accomplished with a series of spaced brackets spanned by rackor floor sections, the brackets having rack receiving slots or notches that are machine finished to specified dimensions with respect to the bracket center line, and thus maintain the overall length of the rack in spite of variations in casting, etc.

In the drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a portion of a baggage rack and adjacent portions of the interior of the railroad car;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the rack or floor sections;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a fragment of one of the rails entering into the rack or floor sections;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of adjacent intermediate brackets and a floor or rack section supported by them;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 4 with the parts shown in the position they assume during an assembly operation;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6'6 of Fig. 1'

and indicating an intermediate position of the floor section during assembly; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of electric conduit forming a part of the rack.

In Fig. 1, ID indicates an end wall and I I a side wall of a car equipped with windows I2, and along which the baggage rack extends.

The rack includes an end bracket I3 and spaced intermediate brackets I4 supporting rack or floor sections I 5.

The brackets are shown in a form suitable for casting in aluminum and include a base portion I6 adapted to be secured to the wall I I by screws I1 and an outwardly extending arm portion I8 of box-like form to provide a chamber I9 for lights and havin a light transmitting panel or globe 20 at the bottom and an access door or cover 2| at the top.

The detail of the lighting will not be described, for it corresponds in a general way to that disclosed in the patent to Larson et al. No. 2,217,688, October 15, 1940.

The rack sections I5 include a front rail 22 and a back rail 23 with rods or rungs 24 extending between them. The rail sections span the space between adjacent brackets and, together with the upper portions thereof, form the luggage rack. k

They are supported by having the end portions of the front and back rails 22 and 23 fit into slots or notches 25 and 26 in the sides of the brackets adjacent to their outer and inner ends, respectively.

Looking at the plan view in Fig. 4, it will be seen that the notches or slots 25 and 26 extend inwardly from opposite sides of the intermediate brackets I4 to a specified distance from the center line 21, by reason of which the distance between the adjacent faces 28 of notches 25 and the corresponding faces 29 of notches 26 may be established by machining the slots or notches to the specified dimensions.

Notches 25 and 26 in the outer sides of the end brackets I3 are machined to specified dimensions with respect to the center line 30 of those brackets.

The rack or floor sections I5 can be made of substantially uniform length by cutting the front and back rails 22 and 23 to a gauge or template.

With these arrangements, it will be apparent that with the brackets I3 and I4 fastened to the wall II of the car with the proper spacing on centers, the floor or rack sections I5 may be installed with their end portions in the slots or notches 25 and 26, and no reasonable accumulation of tolerances can require any hand fitting or otherwise throw the assembly out of proper arrangement.

The notches or slots 25 are cut with their opposite faces 3| and. 32 (Fig: 6) inclined downwardly and outwardly so that, when the rack is assem bled, the rack or floor sections I5 will be forced outwardly in Fig. 6 and maintained in that relation.

' During the assembly, one of the sections is put in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 6, and then rotated counter-clockwise to bring the back rail 23 into position with respect to the notches parts are quickly put together and securely maintained in service.

Thefront and back rails 22 and 23 of the rack sections are made of extruded aluminum tubing having semicircular openings 31 and a flat inside wall 38. The rods or rungs. 24 are made of aluwith a combined aligning and expanding plug- 44, which hasa conical point 45 corresponding to the bottom of the socket 42, a tapered. expanding portion 45, and an aligning ring or collar 41.

In the assembly of the rack or floor sections l5, the plugs are inserted in the tubes to approximately the position shown in Fig.5, in which they are comparatively stable and secure. Then, the rungs with the plugs are brought into position with respect to the sockets 40, 41, in which the plugs can be entered straight to the socket portions 4!, thus forming a temporary assembly that can be inserted in a pinion press or other suitable arrangement by which the parts may be forced or pressed from the relation'shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Figs. 2 and 1, in the course of which the points of the plugs 45 seat in the tapered bottoms of the sockets asat-42, and the end portions 49 of the tubular rods or rungs 24 are expanded into thev socket portions 4!, and thus portions. are expanded or distorted so that the rungs or bars 24 become securely .and permanently fastened into the rails 22 and 23, with the relation substantially as indicated at 5 in Fig. 4.

This construction with alminum extrusions and plugs forms a very rigid and strong rack section.

Wiring conduit for the lighting fixtures is provided by an aluminum extrusion (Figs. 1 and 7) somewhat U-shaped in section, providing a passage 52 for the wiring and a seat 53 for sound insulating packing.

The brackets 13 and I4 are provided with notchesor slots 54 corresponding to the. notches or slots 26, and machined to the same specific dimensions, and which receive the end portions of the pieces of conduit 5| and make them fast against the wall II.

In the assembly operation, the brackets l3 and 14 are fastened to the Wall on centers, but with the screws 11 loose enough topermit the ends of the conduit sections 51 to be inserted in the slots 54 when the screws are set up, and the conduit and brackets are at once made fast and secure to the wall ll.

I claim:

,1. In a baggage rack, spaced brackets adjacent sides of which have aligned rearwardly and upwardly inclined notches in their outer end portions and aligned vertical notches in their inner end portions, a floor section including front and back rails and connecting elements all dis-- posed in substantially a single plane, said front rail having its ends in said aligned inclined notches and said back rail having its ends in said other aligned notches, and means exerting downward and forward thrust on the back rail to seat both rails securely in the respective notches.

2. In a baggage rack, spaced brackets adjacent sides of which have aligned rearwardly and upwardly inclined notches in their outer end portions and aligned vertical notches in their inner end portions, a floor section including front and back rails and connecting elements all disposed in substantiallya single plane, said front rail having its ends in said aligned inclined notches and said back rail having its ends in said other aligned notches, and spring means exerting downward and forward thrust on the back rail to hold the back rail down in said vertical notches and thereby hold the front rail out under the material of the bracket overhanging said inclined notches.

'3. In a baggage rack an openwork grating or floor section including spaced side rails having aligned sockets with conical bottoms, tubular rungs between said rails with opposite ends in the aligned sockets, and tapered plugs in the ends of said tubes expanding the tubes and holding the same in said sockets.

4. In :a baggage rack, an openwork grating or floor section including spaced side rails having aligned sockets with conical bottoms, tubular rungs between said rails with opposite ends in the aligned sockets, and tapered plugs in the ends of said tubes and sockets, said plugs each having an aligning collar fitted within the cor-. responding portion of the tubular rung.

5. In a baggage rack, spaced brackets adjacen sides of which have aligned inclined notches in, their outer end portions and aligned vertical notches in their inner end portions, a floor secticn including front and back rails and connecting elements all disposed in substantially a single plane, said front rail having its ends in said aligned inclined notches and said back rail having its ends in said vertical notches, and clamps secured to said brackets and bearing downwardly and forwardly on the back rail holding the back rail fast in said vertical notches and holding the front rail seated in said inclined notches.

6. In a baggage rack, spaced brackets adjacent sides of which have aligned inclined notches in their outer (end portions and aligned vertical notches in their inner end portions, a fioor sec.

tion including front and'back rails and connecting elements all disposed in substantially a single,

plane, said front rail having its ends in said aligned inclined notches and said back rail having its ends in said vertical notches, and spring clamps secured to the brackets, overlapping Ertions of said brackets and back rail and bearing downwardly and forwardly on the back rail for holding the back rail fast in said vertical notches.

and seating the front rail in said inclined notches.

7. In a baggage rack, an openwork grating or floor section including 'spaced side rails having aligned'sockets, rungs between said rails Withopposite tubular end portions in the aligned sockets,

and tapered plugs in said tubular end portions expanding .said portions and holding the same in tight friction fit insaid sockets.

-YALE W.

References :Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

